I have come to believe that the notion of "foreign interference" is a political tool to define an "us" vs "them" in global geopolitics. I don't think it is a relic, but an actively used tool to justify ongoing attacks against any peoples arbitrarily declared "other" by the state.
Canadian parliament and media have expressed so much performative concern for "foreign interference", and yet each parliamentarian needed to swear allegiance to the "Canadian Crown" using the name of the individual British Royal Family that is currently the figurehead of this imperial/colonial/genocidal institution.
Is Britain and the British Monarchy "foreign", or are loyalists openly admitting that Canada isn't a fully formed independent country?
Is swearing allegiance to a "foreign" institution, as required by Canadian parliamentary process, not the most critical form of "foreign interference" that "Canadian" democratic institutions face?
It is not uncommon for relics to be actively used, and that doesn't stop them from being a relic, i.e. something that is long since dead, but still used for symbolic importance. While xenophobia continues to grow, that shouldn't stop us from making fun of it and pointing out how foolish it is. Since publishing this post, I've been reflecting on how Jon Stewart engaged in foreign interference by announcing Mark Carney's candidacy on The Daily Show. Not something I have a problem with, but it shows how subjective the use of this frame can be. 😁
Thanks for thoughts on "It is not uncommon for relics to be actively used, and that doesn't stop them from being a relic"
I guess my understanding of language is a bit different than others, and I get confused. It is like the word "history" which I don't think of as relating to things that are ongoing. For instance, Canadian Colonialism isn't "history" yet because it is ongoing in the present. It only gets to be discussed as history when it stops. I'm fully aware other people see things differently, and they put things into the past that STARTED in the past even if they are ongoing.
If Mark Carney's candidacy announcement was on a show from Russia Today, or some media affiliated with some officially designated "other", then I believe it would have had an entirely different impact.
Elon Musk appeared to be able to say whatever he wanted in Anglosphere right-wing media (including his own X) and political circles, but it took comments at a rally for Germany's far-right AfD for many people to finally take real notice.
The reality is that The Daily Show is probably more widely watched by those with Canadian Citizenship than any CANCON approved news/comedy show. I may have a problem with that foreign interference (and prefer to watch international programming, including news, from outside the Anglosphere), I am well aware most Canadians do not.
Isn't the stoking of fears of "foreign interference" a sign that the old empires of the 20thc are finally crumbling? I've been reading some books written by American authors in the mid-1970s recently & was really struck how they reflect an attitude that the major issue with oil & gas was not the environmental impacts of fossil fuels but dependence on foreign sources. Foreign interference is all well and good while you are the one doing the interfering, but the minute the foreigners aren't playing ball anymore & you are vulnerable to predation by others, it takes on a different cast. Maybe we won't see that collaboration until we are truly in a more multipolar era
I have come to believe that the notion of "foreign interference" is a political tool to define an "us" vs "them" in global geopolitics. I don't think it is a relic, but an actively used tool to justify ongoing attacks against any peoples arbitrarily declared "other" by the state.
Canadian parliament and media have expressed so much performative concern for "foreign interference", and yet each parliamentarian needed to swear allegiance to the "Canadian Crown" using the name of the individual British Royal Family that is currently the figurehead of this imperial/colonial/genocidal institution.
Is Britain and the British Monarchy "foreign", or are loyalists openly admitting that Canada isn't a fully formed independent country?
Is swearing allegiance to a "foreign" institution, as required by Canadian parliamentary process, not the most critical form of "foreign interference" that "Canadian" democratic institutions face?
https://www.ourcommons.ca/marleaumontpetit/DocumentViewer.aspx?Language=E&Sec=Ch04&Seq=9
New Canadian citizens:
"I swear (or affirm)
That I will be faithful
And bear true allegiance
To His Majesty
King Charles the Third
King of Canada
His Heirs and Successors
..."
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/discover-canada/read-online/oath-citizenship.html
It is not uncommon for relics to be actively used, and that doesn't stop them from being a relic, i.e. something that is long since dead, but still used for symbolic importance. While xenophobia continues to grow, that shouldn't stop us from making fun of it and pointing out how foolish it is. Since publishing this post, I've been reflecting on how Jon Stewart engaged in foreign interference by announcing Mark Carney's candidacy on The Daily Show. Not something I have a problem with, but it shows how subjective the use of this frame can be. 😁
Thanks for thoughts on "It is not uncommon for relics to be actively used, and that doesn't stop them from being a relic"
I guess my understanding of language is a bit different than others, and I get confused. It is like the word "history" which I don't think of as relating to things that are ongoing. For instance, Canadian Colonialism isn't "history" yet because it is ongoing in the present. It only gets to be discussed as history when it stops. I'm fully aware other people see things differently, and they put things into the past that STARTED in the past even if they are ongoing.
If Mark Carney's candidacy announcement was on a show from Russia Today, or some media affiliated with some officially designated "other", then I believe it would have had an entirely different impact.
Elon Musk appeared to be able to say whatever he wanted in Anglosphere right-wing media (including his own X) and political circles, but it took comments at a rally for Germany's far-right AfD for many people to finally take real notice.
The reality is that The Daily Show is probably more widely watched by those with Canadian Citizenship than any CANCON approved news/comedy show. I may have a problem with that foreign interference (and prefer to watch international programming, including news, from outside the Anglosphere), I am well aware most Canadians do not.
Isn't the stoking of fears of "foreign interference" a sign that the old empires of the 20thc are finally crumbling? I've been reading some books written by American authors in the mid-1970s recently & was really struck how they reflect an attitude that the major issue with oil & gas was not the environmental impacts of fossil fuels but dependence on foreign sources. Foreign interference is all well and good while you are the one doing the interfering, but the minute the foreigners aren't playing ball anymore & you are vulnerable to predation by others, it takes on a different cast. Maybe we won't see that collaboration until we are truly in a more multipolar era